Unconventional Business Thinking

 The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.
We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.... —Albert Einstein

Everything you want, and everything you need is somewhere in the world around you. And it’s closer
than you think. All you have to do is develop the ability to sense it, feel it, see it, and hear it.
But first, you have to believe it. Belief gives birth to passion. Passion gives birth to action.

If you’re shooting at Eagles, don’t focus on where the Eagle is now. Focus on where it is going to be.

Great entrepreneurs and innovators resist “success as usual” syndrome, They try to keep the big picture in mind and are wary of being too efficient and too optimized. This perspective helps them promote unconventional ways of thinking, solving problems, and challenging the status quo.

They know the goal is not to chase a fixed horizon but to understand when and how the horizon moves as they approach it.

For example, if you bet one dollar that the coin will fall on heads, your odds of winning are 50/50.
But if we happen to win 6 times in a row on head, we subconsciously believe that the odds of the coin landing on heads the seventh time are mysteriously in our favor. But they are not. The odds of the coin landing on heads are still only 50/50.

But most of us would optimise and bet all our dollars on the 7th flip; that’s when we lose it all.
We have rationally defined the odds; Our perception of the risk has become skewed by our most recent string of success.

Every time you define something, you subtract from it.......Herb kelleher

Each time you start a new business the odds are againts you, no matter your past success, the odds are still againts you, the odds does not change.

Step forward with instinct and caution each time.

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Becoming an Entrepreneur

Learn the business skills and startup mindset you need to excel.

Becoming an entrepreneur involves more than just starting a business — it’s about solving real problems, taking calculated risks, and building something valuable. 

Here's a clear, step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. Understand What Entrepreneurship Is

• It's not just about making money — it's about identifying a problem, creating a solution, and delivering it in a sustainable way.
• Entrepreneurs take ownership, deal with uncertainty, and often wear many hats in the beginning.

 2. Identify a Problem or Opportunity

Start by asking:

• What frustrates people?
• What needs aren't being met?
• What could be done better?

Example: Uber started because of the frustration of not being able to get a taxi easily.

3. Validate Your Idea

• Don’t build a full business before confirming there's demand.
• Talk to potential customers.
• Create a simple prototype or landing page.
• Offer a service manually before building tech.

Tip: Read about the Lean Startup methodology.

4. Learn Basic Business Skills
At a minimum, you should understand:

• Sales
• Marketing
• Financial literacy (profit, loss, cash flow)
• Negotiation
• Time management

Success Tips

• Education (formal or informal) in business basics can be helpful but is not mandatory.
• Start small and test urgency and market demand for your idea.
• Prepare financially to cover personal and startup costs for several months.
• Use research and feedback to refine your business model and marketing

Becoming an entrepreneur involves a mindset shift towards problem-solving, identifying specific 

problems or opportunities, validating ideas with potential customers, and taking concrete 

steps like business planning, launching, and managing a business. Success often requires 

resilience, learning from failure, building a strong network, and possibly finding mentors.

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Economics of New Economy

A courageous leap is the most valuable coin of a creative thinker................Emmanuel sodipo

Imagine you’re about to leave the house to pick up your kids. As you grab your keys, a device from your coffee table interupts:
“It looks like you’ll use the last of your milk tomorrow, and yogurt is on sale for $1.29. Would you like to pick up an order from Shoprite, for a total of $4.95 before it closes for the xmas break?” You say yes. Alexa confirms; The order will be ready for delivery in 20 minutes.

The next generation of smart assistants and connected devices will learn from user habits and pick up on behavioral and environmental patterns in order to make these experiences more predictive. Devices like the Echo will access data from everyday interactions to predict specific opportunities for a transaction.

The future of predictive retail requires designing new ecosystems for commerce. These systems will be built around the human, rather than around a particular device or around online/offline experience. These systems will need to incorporate human connection, spatial design and lots of data.
Companies everywhere are making investments to build their digital businesses.

Decisions about digital platforms can make the difference between high growth and high margins or limited growth with declining margins. Unlike other technology and business investments, the digital business gets to the core economics of the company: revenue, growth, and margins.

The right digital business investments are of paramount interest to the CEO and critical to its long-term agility and margins. While questions about revenue, viral growth, and privacy receive attention, it is the agility and margins that ultimately determine the success of most digital businesses.

However; the Economist and the CEO differ in Approach:

Digital economics is set to upset markets trends and change everything. But economists don’t buy into the hype largely because the old economics lens remained useful for looking at the changes taking place.

The economics of the “New Economy” could be described at a high level;
Most human activities can be described by five high-level components: data, prediction, judgment, action, and outcomes.

For example, a visit to the doctor in response to pain leads to:
1) x-rays, blood tests, monitoring (data)
2) diagnosis of the problem, such as “if we administer treatment A, then we predict outcome X,
but if we administer treatment B, then we predict outcome Y” (prediction),
3) weighing options: “given your age, lifestyle, and family status, I think you might be best with treatment A; how you feel about the risks and side effects” (judgment)
4) administering treatment A (action)
5) full recovery with minor side effects (outcome).

As machine intelligence improves, the value of human prediction skills will decrease.

Machine prediction will provide a cheaper and better substitute for human prediction, just as machines did for arithmetic.

However, human judgment skills will increase as it complements prediction.

I believe the CEO and Economist prediction requires some human judgement.

Have a Perfect Holiday 

Redefining Work

The rate of unemployment is 100% if it’s you who is unemployed................ David L. Kurtz

Joshua Brown, a 40-year-old entrepreneur and technology enthusiast from Canton, Ohio, was cruising  his Tesla Model S sedan at 74 miles per hour in self-driving Autopilot mode when suddenly a tractor-trailer turned across his path. The Tesla failed to register the white tractor-trailer and
Mr. Brown didn’t engage the brakes in time. He died.

That was a brief snapshot of when machine intelligence fails us. But how does this affect work?
Autopilot and machine intelligence is when machines learn by experience and improve their performance over time through the entire production lifecycle.

Researchers are trying to predict its impact on jobs.
- Optimists suggest that intelligent machines will free human workers to do more
“creative” tasks
- Pessimists predict huge levels
of unemployment, as nearly half of existing jobs appear prone to automation. Hence, extinction
.
This view, in effect, calls for a re-examination of what a “job” actually is:
-How it is structured?
-How it should be reconfigured?
-How should companies rethink the value of a job, in terms of increased performance?
-What set of skills should companies invest in?
-Which jobs should remain within the company or outsourced?

This view further challenges modern culture of capitalism; how to generate a sustainable economic growth that is built on high-value well-paying jobs which is at the core of entrepreneurial societies.

Lets look at an interesting viewpoint from Martin Sorrell (CEO WPP):
"I’m actually somewhat suspicious when people use the C word—“culture”—because it’s often used by people who don’t want to do what we want them to. That said, several things have radically changed organizational culture. One is technology. Digital is now 40% of WPP’s business; data is 25%. Then there’s the fact that we operate in 113 countries. It’s impossible to run the company from the center; you have to have local sensitivity. Lastly, we now need to be purpose-driven, to appeal more to customers, to clients, and to our own talent".

With this redefinition of work, the male specie is the most endangered; for generations, he took pride in adapting to physical nature ofwork to care for his family, he now has no physical advantage over the female specie. Perhaps, it played out well for him in the recent US election with a Trump win, but for how much longer?

My mania for analysis exhaust me, excites her but educates us........Emmanuel Sodipo

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The Wrong Portrait

We see what you are driving at but you have not said it, and therefore we shall go on as before..... Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

Economic stress is not always a matter of unemployment or underemployment.
There is a new kind of sweatshop in America, High pressure, high compensation firms,
such as banks and many tech companies, hire bright, young Ivy League graduates and pay them $75,000
or more per year with luxurious perks, in exchange for 70–100-hour workweeks.

What is wrong with that picture?
It is dysfunctional, let's take a closer look at the picture.

 The following numbers represent percentages of the U.S. adult population.
• Depression – 9%
• Anxiety – 18% (commonly in conjunction with other mental illnesses)
• Stress – 33% (between 33% and 42% since 19941)
• Workaholism – 25%
• Substance Dependence and Abuse – 8.2% (8.6% treated for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem in 2013)
• Alcoholism ○ Binge Drinking – 22.9% ○ Heavy Drinking – 6.3%
• Illicit Drug Use – 9.4% (not classified as addicted) ○ Nonmedical Use of Prescription-Type Psychotherapeutic Drugs – 2.5%
• Eating Disorders ○ Overweight – 60% ○ Obese – 34% ○ Binge Eating – 2-5%
• Nicotine Addiction – 25.5% (480,000 premature deaths per year plus 16 million people with a serious illness caused by smoking)
• Sexual Addiction – 6%
• Problem Gambling – 3%
• Shopping Addiction – 5%
• Insomnia – 20%
• Suicide – 0.0126% (41,149 per year, 10th leading cause of death – more common than homicide)
• Domestic Violence – 4%
• Crime Rate – 9% ○ Incarcerated – 2.7% (the most incarcerated country in the world)

"Economic stress" refers to a state of financial strain or pressure experienced by individuals, 

households, businesses, or entire economies. This stress can arise from various factors, and its 

effects can manifest at different levels.

Some common contributors to economic stress and potential impacts.

Unemployment and Underemployment:

Cause: Loss of jobs or inability to find suitable employment.

Impact: Reduced income, financial instability, and increased anxiety about meeting basic needs.

Financial Market Volatility:

Cause: Fluctuations in stock markets, currency values, and other financial instruments.

Impact: Investors may experience losses, affecting personal wealth and confidence in the financial system.

High Levels of Debt:

Cause: Accumulation of personal or institutional debt.

Impact: Debt repayment challenges, interest burdens, and potential credit issues.

Addressing economic stress often requires a comprehensive approach involving government policies, 

social safety nets, financial education, and efforts to promote economic stability and inclusivity. 

Individuals and businesses may also need to adopt strategies such as budgeting, saving, and 

diversifying income sources to navigate economic challenges successfully.

America is still the largest economy in the world. Perhaps, clever and a showman,
we can keep the status quo, or we can strive to be better...

I have one request: may I never use my reason against truth...... Elie Wiesel

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Vague Dilutes Leadership

I am bound to furnish my antagonists with arguments, but not with comprehension........ Benjamin Disraeli

Zeroing in on small innovations leads to big breakthroughs and that is the hinge for doing more with less. Instead of becoming obsessed with big, ask yourself questions like, “What’s the smallest change we could make in our product, our delivery, our distribution, our organizational structure, or our communication?”

Questions that force you to add by subtraction: “What could we take away from those same areas to make them better and simplify the process?”

Lets look at communication:

Fuzzy writing allows fuzzy thinking;

Clear writing uses well-organized, active-voice sentences to explain what is happening, what ought to happen, and what people need to do.

Conversely, inexact and passive language reflects gaps in thinking.

Requesting clear, direct, active language has two benefits. It forces writers to think through what they really mean and the arguments they can use to support it. If you prize clarity, the clear thinkers will rise to the top.

A culture of clear writing makes managers more productive while vague writing dilutes leadership.

Case Study -
CEO Marissa Mayer email to staff on the sale of Yahoo to Verizon: “…our incredibly loyal and dedicated employee base has stepped up to every challenge along the way….The teams here have not only built incredible products and technologies, but have built Yahoo into one of the most iconic, and universally well-liked companies in the world….I’m incredibly proud of everything that we’ve achieved, and I’m incredibly proud of our team. I love Yahoo, and I believe in all of you.”

That’s four uses of “incredible” or “incredibly” in a single paragraph. It all reads like misdirection and the happy, vacuous language certainly would not inspire the workers to stay. (The rest of the email is similarly vague.)

Clear leadership, expressed in writing, creates alignment and boosts productivity.

For example,
In writing email; the CEO down to the managers must set an example by communicating exactly what they want, clearly, in the subject line or title and the first two sentences of everything they write.

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Why Businesses Remain Small

There is a danger in being persuaded before one understands........... Bishop Thomas Wilson

As a leader, if you mature with the discipline to build an organization that can grow and scale, then you can go the distance.

An organization is essentially the sum total of its physical, financial, human, intellectual, and relationship capital. Different industries and different business models have always maintained different percentages of these asset types.

Manufacturers invest most of their capital into physical assets, while high-tech firms invest in R&D to create new intellectual capital.

So why would a $100 million organization be trapped in the body of a $30 million company.

Why?

- They confuse growth for scaling. Growth means adding revenue at the same pace you are adding resources; scaling means adding revenue at a much greater rate than cost.

- They let their identity be formed by the biggest customers rather than in-depth strategy work;
For example, Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, lost its market leadership position because it didn’t move beyond its traditional corporate customers; it failed to understand the mobile app market.

- They think to quickly multiply successes is the same as building for sustainable growth;
Taking the time to design an organization that can sustain growth is what distinguishes great executives from those that eventually get swept away by the wave. In today’s market, tech platforms enable relationships to scale rapidly, and at near-zero cost.

This is the phenomenon that has led to exciting platform businesses like Facebook, LinkedIn, Uber, and Airbnb. Even when these firms rely on physical assets, like cars for Uber, they own the technology, not the physical asset.

- They fear that standardizing approaches to work will neutralize entrepreneurial freedom and stunt creativity;
But this is rarely the case. Standardized processes liberate creativity because they free up distracted energy that’s consumed by reinventing approaches every time something is done.

Organizational transformation must begin with a leadership transformation

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